Advanced Apprentice Review

Maintenance Apprentice in mechanical and electrical engineering, responsible for attending breakdowns on the line and carrying out repairs as well as planned maintenance day to day. Also expected to implement improvements to help the technical availability of my work area and improve safety.

Am gaining electrical and mechanical training both at college and day to day in plant. Gaining experience with PLCs including some programming.

I really enjoy the hands on nature of this job as this is the way that I learn best and I enjoy being busy. The team is very welcoming and have put me at ease with the majority of people happy to assist my learning and get me involved. I was apprehensive about the role at first as it wasn't one of my top choices however I now wouldn't change a thing.

Yes I do feel valued. Last year me and a fellow apprentice entered the innovation awards with a project we carried out and won. The prize was a trip to Hannover Messe to see all of the new engineering developments which are coming into play, it was very interesting to be able to see where technology will be taking the business in the coming years and we were able to put together another presentation to show these ideas to our manager when we returned from the trip.

In plant we are well supported and have been given a structure to work to in order to achieve more than just passing the apprenticeship. We have been tasked by our supervisor to get involved in more than just our daily role so that when we finish we will have a head start in making further progression. College has been a little disorganised at times but this has definitely improved and we are on target to complete the programme within the four years.

We have regular meetings with our training manager who sets targets and tasks for our next meeting, he is always available in between these meetings for any additional support should we feel like we need it. Our shift supervisor has been excellent and is really supportive of apprentices and helped a lot when we first entered plant. College support has been OK, it lacked structure in the beginning but has definitely improved over the last year.

My supervisor has been excellent, very supportive and pushes us to go above and beyond which has really paid off. It has always been clear that we can go to him with any issues and they have always been rectified quickly.

The money is very good, JLR pays above average anyway and then there is a 10% payrise every 6 months as long as all targets are met and behaviour has been good. As a homeowner this was one of the biggest points for me and one of the main reasons I chose a JLR apprenticeship. Without this I would not have been able to afford to retrain and give myself better prospects for the future.

The ELS programme is great, being given money to go and try out a new experience or gain a qualification isn't something many companies offer and it really helps with morale. I have used mine to go rally driving, a drifting course and a supercar experience but there are no rules to how you should use it.

Yes

It is really well paid and the hours are also very good. The opportunities for extra training are always there so if you are willing and hardworking it is possible to progress a long way.

Go for it. Make sure you have the GCSEs/A levels that they want and after that it is all about you as a person, your work ethic and enthusiasm. If you like working as part of a team than the advanced apprenticeship is definitely for you.